Waking up inside this world is a very strange experience. The first thing you see is the unbelievable amount of suffering that takes place here. You think, “Oh yes, the world is a terrible place and there’s an enormous amount of suffering,” but most of you still just know this theoretically.

There’s an aspect to the process of awakening that puts you in touch with suffering in such a way that it cannot be avoided: the suffering of yourself; the suffering of those around you; the cruel actions that are generated by yourself and those around you; watching this suffering compound itself and generate false understanding and false actions that lead to more suffering. All this must be confronted.

This is one of the things that tends to throw travelers on the path. The only thing I’ve been able to find that is capable of dealing with the vibration of suffering and pain is the Bodhicitta.